Genesis 27
27
1And it cometh to pass that Isaac [is] aged, and his eyes are too dim for seeing, and he calleth Esau his elder son, and saith unto him, ‘My son;’ and he saith unto him, ‘Here [am] I.’
2And he saith, ‘Lo, I pray thee, I have become aged, I have not known the day of my death;
3and now, take up, I pray thee, thy instruments, thy quiver, and thy bow, and go out to the field, and hunt for me provision,
4and make for me tasteful things, [such] as I have loved, and bring in to me, and I do eat, so that my soul doth bless thee before I die.’
5And Rebekah is hearkening while Isaac is speaking unto Esau his son; and Esau goeth to the field to hunt provision — to bring in;
6and Rebekah hath spoken unto Jacob her son, saying, ‘Lo, I have heard thy father speaking unto Esau thy brother, saying,
7Bring for me provision, and make for me tasteful things, and I do eat, and bless thee before Jehovah before my death.
8‘And now, my son, hearken to my voice, to that which I am commanding thee:
9Go, I pray thee, unto the flock, and take for me from thence two good kids of the goats, and I make them tasteful things for thy father, [such] as he hath loved;
10and thou hast taken in to thy father, and he hath eaten, so that his soul doth bless thee before his death.
11And Jacob saith unto Rebekah his mother, ‘Lo, Esau my brother [is] a hairy man, and I a smooth man,
12it may be my father doth feel me, and I have been in his eyes as a deceiver, and have brought upon me disesteem, and not a blessing;’
13and his mother saith to him, ‘On me thy disesteem, my son; only hearken to my voice, and go, take for me.’
14And he goeth, and taketh, and bringeth to his mother, and his mother maketh tasteful things, [such] as his father hath loved;
15and Rebekah taketh the desirable garments of Esau her elder son, which [are] with her in the house, and doth put on Jacob her younger son;
16and the skins of the kids of the goats she hath put on his hands, and on the smooth of his neck,
17and she giveth the tasteful things, and the bread which she hath made, into the hand of Jacob her son.
18And he cometh in unto his father, and saith, ‘My father;’ and he saith, ‘Here [am] I; who [art] thou, my son?’
19And Jacob saith unto his father, ‘I [am] Esau thy first-born; I have done as thou hast spoken unto me; rise, I pray thee, sit, and eat of my provision, so that thy soul doth bless me.’
20And Isaac saith unto his son, ‘What [is] this thou hast hasted to find, my son?’ and he saith, ‘That which Jehovah thy God hath caused to come before me.’
21And Isaac saith unto Jacob, ‘Come nigh, I pray thee, and I feel thee, my son, whether thou [art] he, my son Esau, or not.’
22And Jacob cometh nigh unto Isaac his father, and he feeleth him, and saith, ‘The voice [is] the voice of Jacob, and the hands hands of Esau.’
23And he hath not discerned him, for his hands have been hairy, as the hands of Esau his brother, and he blesseth him,
24and saith, ‘Thou art he — my son Esau?’ and he saith, ‘I [am].’
25And he saith, ‘Bring nigh to me, and I do eat of my son's provision, so that my soul doth bless thee;’ and he bringeth nigh to him, and he eateth; and he bringeth to him wine, and he drinketh.
26And Isaac his father saith to him, ‘Come nigh, I pray thee, and kiss me, my son;’
27and he cometh nigh, and kisseth him, and he smelleth the fragrance of his garments, and blesseth him, and saith, ‘See, the fragrance of my son [is] as the fragrance of a field which Jehovah hath blessed;
28and God doth give to thee of the dew of heaven, and of the fatness of the earth, and abundance of corn and wine;
29peoples serve thee, and nations bow themselves to thee, be thou mighty over thy brethren, and the sons of thy mother bow themselves to thee; those who curse thee [are] cursed, and those who bless thee [are] blessed.’
30And it cometh to pass, as Isaac hath finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob is only just going out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother hath come in from his hunting;
31and he also maketh tasteful things, and bringeth to his father, and saith to his father, ‘Let my father arise, and eat of his son's provision, so that thy soul doth bless me.’
32And Isaac his father saith to him, ‘Who [art] thou?’ and he saith, ‘I [am] thy son, thy first-born, Esau;’
33and Isaac trembleth a very great trembling, and saith, ‘Who, now, [is] he who hath provided provision, and bringeth in to me, and I eat of all before thou comest in, and I bless him? — yea, blessed is he.’
34When Esau heareth the words of his father, then he crieth a very great and bitter cry, and saith to his father, ‘Bless me, me also, O my father;’
35and he saith, ‘Thy brother hath come with subtilty, and taketh thy blessing.’
36And he saith, ‘Is it because [one] called his name Jacob that he doth take me by the heel these two times? my birthright he hath taken; and lo, now, he hath taken my blessing;’ he saith also, ‘Hast thou not kept back a blessing for me?’
37And Isaac answereth and saith to Esau, ‘Lo, a mighty one have I set him over thee, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants, and [with] corn and wine have I sustained him; and for thee now, what shall I do, my son?’
38And Esau saith unto his father, ‘One blessing hast thou my father? bless me, me also, O my father;’ and Esau lifteth up his voice, and weepeth.
39And Isaac his father answereth and saith unto him, ‘Lo, of the fatness of the earth is thy dwelling, and of the dew of the heavens from above;
40and by thy sword dost thou live, and thy brother dost thou serve; and it hath come to pass when thou rulest, that thou hast broken his yoke from off thy neck.’
41And Esau hateth Jacob, because of the blessing with which his father blessed him, and Esau saith in his heart, ‘The days of mourning [for] my father draw near, and I slay Jacob my brother.’
42And the words of Esau her elder son are declared to Rebekah, and she sendeth and calleth for Jacob her younger son, and saith unto him, ‘Lo, Esau thy brother is comforting himself in regard to thee — to slay thee;
43and now, my son, hearken to my voice, and rise, flee for thyself unto Laban my brother, to Haran,
44and thou hast dwelt with him some days, till thy brother's fury turn back,
45till thy brother's anger turn back from thee, and he hath forgotten that which thou hast done to him, and I have sent and taken thee from thence; why am I bereaved even of you both the same day?’
46And Rebekah saith unto Isaac, ‘I have been disgusted with my life because of the presence of the daughters of Heth; if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, like these — from the daughters of the land — why do I live?’
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Genesis 27
27
Isaac Blesses Jacob
1When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” 2He said, “See, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3Now then, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game for me. 4Then prepare for me savory food, such as I like, and bring it to me to eat, so that I may bless you before I die.”
5Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and bring it, 6Rebekah said to her son Jacob, “I heard your father say to your brother Esau, 7‘Bring me game, and prepare for me savory food to eat, that I may bless you before the Lord before I die.’ 8Now therefore, my son, obey my word as I command you. 9Go to the flock, and get me two choice kids, so that I may prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he likes; 10and you shall take it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies.” 11But Jacob said to his mother Rebekah, “Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I am a man of smooth skin. 12Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be mocking him, and bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.” 13His mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my word, and go, get them for me.” 14So he went and got them and brought them to his mother; and his mother prepared savory food, such as his father loved. 15Then Rebekah took the best garments of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on her younger son Jacob; 16and she put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17Then she handed the savory food, and the bread that she had prepared, to her son Jacob.
18So he went in to his father, and said, “My father”; and he said, “Here I am; who are you, my son?” 19Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn. I have done as you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, so that you may bless me.” 20But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” He answered, “Because the Lord your God granted me success.” 21Then Isaac said to Jacob, “Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22So Jacob went up to his father Isaac, who felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him. 24He said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He answered, “I am.” 25Then he said, “Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son's game and bless you.” So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near and kiss me, my son.” 27So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his garments, and blessed him, and said,
“Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field that the Lord has blessed.
28May God give you of the dew of heaven,
and of the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of grain and wine.
29Let peoples serve you,
and nations bow down to you.
Be lord over your brothers,
and may your mother's sons bow down to you.
Cursed be everyone who curses you,
and blessed be everyone who blesses you!”
Esau's Lost Blessing
30As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau came in from his hunting. 31He also prepared savory food, and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father sit up and eat of his son's game, so that you may bless me.” 32His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your firstborn son, Esau.” 33Then Isaac trembled violently, and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all#27.33 Cn: Heb of all before you came, and I have blessed him?—yes, and blessed he shall be!” 34When Esau heard his father's words, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me, me also, father!” 35But he said, “Your brother came deceitfully, and he has taken away your blessing.” 36Esau said, “Is he not rightly named Jacob?#27.36 That is He supplants or He takes by the heel For he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright; and look, now he has taken away my blessing.” Then he said, “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?” 37Isaac answered Esau, “I have already made him your lord, and I have given him all his brothers as servants, and with grain and wine I have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?” 38Esau said to his father, “Have you only one blessing, father? Bless me, me also, father!” And Esau lifted up his voice and wept.
39Then his father Isaac answered him:
“See, away from#27.39 Or See, of the fatness of the earth shall your home be,
and away from#27.39 Or and of the dew of heaven on high.
40By your sword you shall live,
and you shall serve your brother;
but when you break loose,#27.40 Meaning of Heb uncertain
you shall break his yoke from your neck.”
Jacob Escapes Esau's Fury
41Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, “The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob.” 42But the words of her elder son Esau were told to Rebekah; so she sent and called her younger son Jacob and said to him, “Your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. 43Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, 44and stay with him a while, until your brother's fury turns away— 45until your brother's anger against you turns away, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I will send, and bring you back from there. Why should I lose both of you in one day?”
46Then Rebekah said to Isaac, “I am weary of my life because of the Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women such as these, one of the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?”
New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.